The Funny Side of Fear
by Mythicalnightguard
Summary: Sometimes our imagination gets the best of us. Especially after watching a scary movie. No/.


"Ya ready, Ockie?" Jedediah asked, taking his seat beside his friend on the windowsill.

"Ready as I will ever be." Octavius replied, his eyes gazing at the giant white sheet that had been draped over one of the walls in the main entrance.

Tonight was Halloween, and the exhibits had a sort of tradition for when this special occasion came around. Every year, Larry would bring in some sort of horror movie, and they would all gather in the entrance area and watch the scary ghosts and monsters which were projected onto the sheet. But not all the exhibits enjoyed this "fun" tradition.

"Octavius," Jedediah said, turning in his seat to face the Roman. His excited expression turning serious as he spoke. "Are ya absolutely sure you wanna go through with this? You remember what happened last year…."

Octavius winced at the mention of the year before. They had been watching a movie, _Frankenstein,_ it had been called, when Octavius lost it. He'd had what Jedediah and the other exhibits would refer to as an "episode." The movie had scared him, and he'd taken off down the hall and hid from the rest of the museum for most of the night, until Teddy had finally found him. He'd had nightmares about the movie for weeks afterwards, and still shuddered at the memory to this day.

But this year was going to be different. With help from his cowboy friend he'd been practicing and preparing all month for this night. Reading scary stories, watching such shows as _The Walking Dead,_ and listening to the twisted, terror filled tales from his men and the cowboys who resided in the next exhibit. He was ready. He could do it. But he still wasn't too sure…..

"I told you, I will be fine." Octavius insisted, smiling reassuringly. "It is just a movie, after all."

For a moment Octavius feared that his friend had seen right through his false bravery, but before the cowboy could question him farther Larry stepped up to them.

"Evenin', Gigantor!" Jedediah said tipping his hat. "Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween to you, too, Jed." The night guard replied. He then ripped off a piece from a Hershey bar he was holding, and handed it to the cowboy. He then turned to Octavius and frowned. "I didn't know you were coming tonight."

Octavius forced a smile onto his face and replied, "Why would you think I would not?"

"I know you don't like these kinds of movies…"

"Aw, don't worry, Gigantor!" Jedediah said, giving looking up at the night guard while giving his Roman buddy a good humored slap on the back. "'Ol Octy's gonna be just fine, aren't ya?"

"O-Of course-"

"Good." Larry said, tearing off a piece of chocolate for Octavius. "Don't want another incident like last year…"

The night guard moved on to the other miniatures, quickly handing out chocolate before the movie started. As the lights began to dim Octavius felt his gut twisting in anxiety, and began to rise to his feet.

"M-Maybe I should go." He said, about to take a step away from his seat. But a hand gripping his forearm stopped him.

"Ya ain't quitin' on me now, are ya?" Jedediah asked, a small smile on his face. "It'll be okay. Ya know that."

"I do not want to be here…" Octavius stammered, allowing himself to sit once again beside his friend. Jedediah put an arm over his shoulders and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Ya know you're safe. I ain't gonna let nothin' hurt ya."

"Jedediah, I really want to go ho-"

"Shh!" A Roman woman seated behind him hissed, raising a finger to her lips. "The movie's starting!"

With a quiet sigh Octavius sat, trying to control the sweating of his palms as the intro began. The movie, which was about some old American monster legend, was quite terrifying. Throughout the hour and a half Octavius found himself in multiple states of fear; at some scenes he screamed, but was quickly silenced by shushing. He hid behind his hands at other scenes, trembling in fear at the sounds the monster made. At one point, when the beast was attacking a man that was walking through the woods, he found himself clinging to Jedediah, the cowboy gingerly releasing himself from his friend's frightened grasp. When both Octavius from fear and Jedediah from getting the breath squeezed out of him were about to throw in the towel, the movie finally ended and the lights came back on.

While the other exhibits began dispersing, Jedediah sat very still, unable to move as the Roman still held him in his vice-like grip. He managed to release his arm, and pat the top of Octavius' head awkwardly, frowning at his trembling shoulders.

"Octavius?" He asked, tapping his shoulder gently.

Octavius looked up, absolute terror in his eyes as he stared at his cowboy friend, his breaths quick and frightened gasps exiting his mouth.

"Ockie, it's okay."Jedediah whispered gently, rocking slightly. "None of that was real. You're fine, okay?"

Octavius didn't reply,and only nodded slightly at the cowboy's words, slowly releasing his grip on him. Jedediah stood and stretched, before turning to one of the bigger exhibits who lifted them down safely to the floor.

"Let's get ya home, Ockie." He said, leading the way towards their hall.

Suddenly, right as they were about to turn into the room, the lights went out. Octavius let out a cry of horror and threw himself on Jed, causing the cowboy to lose his balance and fall with a thud, the Roman on top of him. Jedediah pushed him of irritatedly, and stood up. He heard his friend cry softly beside him, and put a reassuring arm around him.

"Shh...it's okay…" He whispered.

"The lights went out!" Octavius shrieked, fear taking hold of his heart. "Oh, Jedediah the lights went out!"

"I know." Jedediah replied, his voice calming and reassuring. "I'm sure it's just a power outage. They'll turn back on in a minute-"

Jedediah froze, his heart skipping a beat as a loud, nearby chattering sound drifted to his ears from the shadows. Images from the movie suddenly flooded his mind, and he yelled a warning to Octavius, who had taken off screaming into the darkness. Jedediah felt the floor beneath him shudder with the pounding of some large creature's footsteps, and yelled for Octavius to stay where he was, wherever he was.

"Octavius!?" He yelled, desperate to hear his friend through the pounding of the creature's paws.

"Jedediah! Over here!" Came Octavius' frightened voice from nearby.

Jedediah followed it and found himself in the space between a display case and a wall. The footsteps grew louder and closer with every second. Jedediah hugged Octavius tightly as his friend began to cry, and they sank to the floor, huddled down in fear at their imminent fates. When suddenly, the lights flickered back on.

"Jed?" Came Larry's voice, accompanied by a shadow falling across the opening. "Octavius? What are you doing?"

"There's a monster out there Gigantor!" Jedediah yelled.

"It wants to eat us!" Octavius wailed.

"Guys, there's no monster." Larry said a reassuringly, reaching his hand in the gap to let the two climb aboard.

"Yes there was!" Jedediah protested, his eyes glancing back and forth nervously. "We heard! It chased us!"

Dexter leapt down from the top of the display, landing on Larry's shoulder and causing the miniatures to jump. He made a noise which was familiar…

"The monster was Dexter!?" Jedediah asked in surprise, the fear lifting from his heart as the pieces fit together. Dexter made the noise again, and Larry nodded.

"One of the cavemen accidentally shut off the power switch. Dexter was trying to catch you guys so he could give you a ride to your displays." Larry explained, patting the capuchins head.

"Oh." Jedediah said, chuckling nervously. "I knew that."

He climbed onto Larry's hand, then looked at Octavius.

"Coming?" He asked.

The Roman glanced around fearfully. "Are you sure there is no monster?"

"I promise, there's no monster." Larry said, smiling as the little Roman finally climbed on. He walked him back to their hall, and ended the evening.


End file.
